Surfacing
by muhnemma
Summary: Rewrite of What I Should Have Said. Retelling of KOTOR 1 with a LSF Revan, starting from the Endar Spire.
1. Attacked

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Star Wars or Knights of the Old Republic.

* * *

Felix was jerked awake by a loud bang. She started upright and looked around in confusion as the whole ship rattled around her. Before she had the chance to move the ship lurched violently, throwing her off the bed. She landed in a heap on the cold metal floor and let out a yelp as she saw that one of the heavy plasteel containers had fallen over and was rolling straight towards her head. Scrambling to her feet, she pushed herself out of its path and clung tightly to the wall for balance. 

The door slid open and a frantic looking soldier ran into the room, his raised blaster gripped in slightly trembling hands. He quickly scanned the room and, finding only Felix, he lowered his weapon. "I'm-" His voice trailed off as he looked at her properly for the first time. A faint blush crept over his cheeks and he hurriedly turned away. Confused, Felix started to ask what was wrong when she caught a glimpse of herself in the small mirror that was screwed to the wall. The previous night, too exhausted to find proper night wear, she had just pulled off her clothes and fallen into bed in her underwear. In the confusion and excitement since she had woken up, she had completely forgotten that she was barely clothed.

Growling in annoyance and embarrassment, she stumbled across the room, trying not to slip as the floor shook, to where her clothes lay in a messy pile. The soldier risked glancing at Felix out of the corner of his eyes and, seeing that she was doing something to remedy her situation, began to speak again. "I'm Trask Ulgo, your bunk mate."

"My bunk mate?" Felix asked, pulling up the zip on her combat suit. "How come I've never seen you before?"

"We work opposite shifts, so…"

Trask's voice was drowned out by a loud explosion from just outside of the room. Both of them cast apprehensive looks at the door, and Trask's grip on his blaster tightened again. "Never mind that, you can explain later." Felix said, a grim expression on her face. "What the frack is going on out there?"

"A Sith fleet has attacked us, and they've boarded the ship." He explained. "We need to find Bastila and get to the escape pods before they're all gone."

"Bastila?" Felix frowned. "Who's that?" As she spoke, she kicked open the battered crate at the end of her bed and began to rummage inside.

"She's the commander of this mission, and probably the reason why the Sith are attacking us. Our top priority is to find her before we evacuate."

Felix straightened and slipped a blaster into the holster at her waist. In her free hand she held a short sword. She looked over at Trask and tried to grin at him, but her steadily growing fear made it difficult. "Alright, let's get going."

Trask nodded in response and they both moved towards the door. They had only taken a couple of steps out of the room when the commlink on Felix's wrist flickered to life. A man's face appeared on the tiny screen. He kept throwing anxious looks over his shoulder, and he was clearly hammering away on the keys of a computer as he spoke. "The Sith are threatening to overrun our position!" He shouted over the static. We can't hold out long against their fire power. All hands to the bridge!

"Who's that?" Felix asked.

All colour had drained from Trask's face, and he looked even more worried than when he had first burst into their quarters. "That was Carth; he's a war hero. If he says things are bad then all of us are in trouble."

Ignoring the sinking feeling in her stomach, Felix marched forwards through the next door and down the corridor. She had no idea which way to go to reach the bridge, but Trask didn't make any alterations to their course so she assumed she was at least heading in the right direction.

It wasn't long before they came across their first group of Sith soldiers. They were having a vicious battle in a tiny room with a handful of Republic troops. The Republic troops, outnumbered by at least two to one, didn't last long against them. Even as Felix watched, the last Republic soldier fell to the ground clutching at a gaping blaster wound in his chest. Felix made to rush headfirst into the battle, but Trask grabbed her by the arm of her combat suit and yanked her back. He plunged his hand into his pack and produced a small, orange sphere. He launched it at the Sith soldiers who had just caught sight of them. It bounced once, twice and then exploded. The grenade wiped out the entire group of Sith troops, leaving the path clear for Felix and Trask.

"We're getting close to the bridge now." Trask muttered as he unlocked another door. It slid open to reveal another fight. This time just two people were engaged in combat, a woman and a man duelling fiercely with lightsabers. Once again Felix started to move forwards to help and once again she found herself being restrained. She looked questioningly at Trask, who shook his head. "That's a Dark Jedi." He jerked his thumb at the man in black robes. "Neither of us would stand a chance against him, and if we tried to help we'd just get in the Jedi's way. It's best if we stay out of this."

The fight ended soon, with the Jedi plunging her lightsaber into the Dark Jedi's chest. The Dark Jedi's lightsaber flickered off and he fell to his knees. Trask let out a triumphant whoop, and began to walk towards the woman when an enormous explosion took him off his feet. He only received minor injuries from the blast, but when the smoke cleared they discovered the Jedi lying unmoving in a pool of blood. "Damn it." He grumbled. "We could have used her help. At least we're here now, anyway." He pointed to the door only a few feet ahead of them. "The bridge is through there."

After helping Trask back to his feet, Felix strode towards the door that led to the bridge. It wasn't locked, and it opened straight away. Before she could even set foot in the room, two Sith troops bore down on her. Trask was at her side in an instant, focussing his blaster fire on the one who seemed intent on taking off Felix's head with his blade. She blocked and dodged his wild swings, and eventually one of Trask's shots caught him in the head and sent him to the ground. They rounded on the other one who quickly retreated. In his haste to get away, he stumbled over his companion's body and fell, cracking his head on a table and knocking himself unconscious.

Before they could decide what to do with him, yet another explosion from the far side of the room caught their attention. This one killed what few Republic and Sith troops remained, with the exceptions of Felix and Trask. After doing a quick sweep of the bodies on the floor Trask announced, "Bastila's not here. She must have already retreated to the escape pods, and we need to do the same thing. With Bastila gone, the Sith won't hesitate to destroy the Endar Spire."

Felix frowned. "But there are Sith troops still on the ship. They wouldn't blow it up with their own soldier still on it, would they?"

Trask looked at her in disbelief. "They might as well be their enemies, for all the Sith care about whether their own men live or die. Now come on!" He grabbed her roughly by the shoulder and steered her towards the way out. "We need to get going before it's too late."

Felix allowed herself to be pulled along. As they reached the next room, Trask stopped and looked around. There were several doors here, and he needed a moment to remember which way led to the escape pods. As he thought, one of the doors slid open and a tall, menacing looking man was revealed. He smirked at Trask and Felix, and reached inside his cloak, producing a long metal cylinder. With a loud hiss, a blood red lightsaber sprang to life. "Another Dark Jedi!" Trask whispered. He looked at Felix, then at the man, and then back at Felix again. The Dark Jedi was fast approaching; soon he'd be in the same room as them and they'd have no escape. Making a decision, Trask shoved Felix roughly behind him and then ran to meet the Dark Jedi. "I'll hold him off!" He called over his shoulder. "Get out of here!" He ran into the room the Dark Jedi was in and the door slid shut behind him.

For a moment Felix was rooted to the ground, frozen with fear and shock. Then she was running to the door, pounding on it and trying to get it to open. "Trask!" She screamed. "Don't be an idiot! You can't do this alone, let me in!" She continued to beat the door for a few more moments, but then a cry of pain and a loud thump of something hitting the floor came from inside. This was followed by a sinister chuckle, and the sound of heavy footsteps approaching the door.

Panic rising, Felix turned and fled through a door, hoping that it was the right way to the escape pods. She shut the door and quickly locked it behind her. After a brief pause, a voice began to speak to her from her commlink for the second time. It was that man, Carth, again, looking just as frantic as he had done before. "This is Carth Onasi on your personal communicator." His voice was much clearer this time, not obscured by as much static. "I've been tracking your position through the Endar Spire's life support systems. Bastila's escape pod is away. You're the last surviving crew member, but I can't wait for you much longer. You have to get to the escape pods!"

Without offering any advice about how to get to the escape pods, without even telling her if she was going the right way, he disappeared, leaving the screen blank. Sighing, Felix began to walk again. She tried to remain calm as the whole ship shook around her, but the sword she was carrying kept slipping in the grip of her sweaty palm. Her whole body was tense as she travelled through the smoky corridors, trying to move quickly but trying to stay alert for more Sith troops at the same time.

She had just stumbled into another room when Carth appeared on her commlink again. This time he was warning her about a Sith ambush in the next room, and advised her to use the patrol droid to thin their numbers before proceeding. After he had gone, she rummaged in several nearby containers to find the parts necessary to fix the droid. Having obtained them, she moved over to the droid and quickly programmed it to engage in patrol mode. The droid sprang to life and moved into the next room, opening fire on the Sith troops waiting there.

Felix took a moment to feel proud of her computer skills; the droid hadn't just thinned their numbers, he had wiped out the entire ambush. She ran through the next room, leaping over Sith corpses, and crashed through a door. Carth stood at a computer terminal, his hands frozen over the keys, looking up at her in shock. "You made it!" He exclaimed, moving around the terminal to the one remaining escape pod. "Now we have to go, we can hide out on the planet below."

Although Felix was slightly suspicious of him, she knew she didn't have time to voice her concerns. This man might mean her harm, but if she stayed on the ship she'd die anyway. She hopped into the escape pod and settled herself in one of the small seats. Carth hurried in after her, slamming the door shut and locking it. He looked at her over his shoulder. "Ready?" He asked. Felix nodded and Carth hit a large button, ejecting the escape pod from the Endar Spire into space.


	2. Taris: Crash Landing

_A figure draped in black robes stood at the head of the ship. Although their features were obscured, it was clear that they were a Sith. Power and darkness rolled off them in waves. The Sith was cornered by three Jedi, all of whom were wielding lightsabers. As the Sith activated their own lightsaber, one of the Jedi stepped forwards. Determination was etched onto her regal features, and a fire burned in her eyes. She raised her weapon, and the Sith followed suit. The battle began. _

_The Jedi charged forwards, swinging her lightsaber in an arc and bringing it down sharply towards the Sith's neck. The Sith parried her blow easily, and continued to block her attacks almost lazily. After several long minutes, the Jedi lunged forwards and slashed her weapon across the Sith's abdomen. Although the swipe couldn't have caused much damage, the Sith was clearly shocked that the Jedi had gotten under their defences. The fight now began in earnest. _

_Their lightsabers moved so quickly that they were almost blurs. Both of them fought fiercely, struggling to gain the upper hand. Just when it looked like the Sith was gaining the advantage, the other two Jedi, who had been watching the battle closely up to that point, sprang into action. They bore down on the Sith, who now struggled to fend off three attackers._

With the aid of the other two Jedi, the woman now found a break in the Sith's defences. Quickly moving forwards, she brought her lightsaber up high and plunged it into the Sith's chest. The Sith's lightsaber flickered off and clattered to the ground. Without so much as a moan or whimper, the Sith collapsed.

* * *

Felix jolted awake, her arms and legs thrashing. It wasn't long before her flailing limbs became entangled in the covers, causing her to lose what little precarious balance she had. She toppled out of bed, but a pair of unfamiliar arms caught her before she hit the ground. In her confused state, her first instinct was to struggle against whoever was holding her, but they just tightened their grip and set her safely back onto the mattress. 

"Steady now." A voice murmured in her ear. "You've taken quite a beating; you don't want to make your injuries worse than they already are."

Something about the voice was familiar, although Felix couldn't quite remember where she had heard it before. She pushed her matted hair out of her face and squinted into the dim light of the room. It was Carth. She let out a sigh of relief and allowed herself to relax a little. Although she didn't know him, it was better that she was alone with him than with a complete stranger.

Carth walked back towards the bed (he'd moved away once he had set her back on it for fear of being hit) and stared at her intently. He looked into her eyes, searching for any sign of confusion or pain. Once he had satisfied himself that she was alright, he dropped down on the bed, although he made sure that he maintained a safe distance between them. "How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Like I've just been trampled on by a rancor." Felix grumbled. When she first woke, her initial fear caused by the dream and then the fear caused by being grabbed by a stranger prevented her from feeling the pain that pulsed through her body. Now that she was more relaxed she was starting to feel like one giant bruise.

Carth chuckled slightly, clearly glad to see that she was well enough to crack jokes. "Well it's only to be expected. You got pretty beat up in the crash."

Felix frowned. "Crash?"

All amusement left Carth in an instant, and his face was full of worry again. "You don't remember?"

Felix began to shake her head, but memories started to trickle back to her. The Endar Spire. The Sith attack. Climbing into the escape pod and being jettisoned from the doomed vessel. The last thing she remembered was the hard surface of a planet rushing up to meet them. After that everything was black. "Wait," She murmured. "I think I do. The Endar Spire… We were attacked, right?"

Carth nodded, looking relieved. "Yeah. You had me worried for a moment there. I thought that bang to your head did more damage than I bargained for."

Felix attempted a grin and then looked around her. "Where are we?"

"It's an abandoned apartment." Carth explained. "You were knocked unconscious in the crash, but I was awake. I managed to drag you out of the wreckage and found this place before the Sith arrived on the scene. I know it's not fancy," He swept his arm across the room, indicating the peeling walls and broken furniture. "But it's better than nothing."

"Thank you."

"What for?"

Felix looked at him incredulously. "Saving my life! You could have just left me to the Sith, but you got me out of the ship and brought me here. Probably put yourself in danger, too."

"It was nothing." Carth jerked his shoulders noncommittally. When Felix opened her mouth to protest, he rushed to silence her. "No, really. I've never left a man behind before and I don't intend on starting anytime soon."

Felix still didn't look convinced, so he hurriedly changed the subject. "Enough about that. I've got a lot to fill you in on."

Felix's frown deepened. "From the look on your face I don't think I'm going to like what you're about to say."

"Perceptive. Well, the bad news is that Bastila landed on this planet too, but there's no sign of her anywhere. We're going to have to search every corner of the city for information, starting tomorrow."

"I was right," Felix sighed. "I didn't like that. What's the good news?"

"There is no good news, only worse news." He suppressed a grin at her dramatic groan and continued. "This whole planet is under Sith quarantine. We're going to have to search for Bastila without giving them any clue that there's a Jedi stranded here. When we've found her we're going to have to figure out a way out of this place, because there's no way the Sith are just going to let us fly away."

"Right. So we have to search for Bastila without letting anyone know we're searching for her, and then fight our way through Force knows how many Sith to leave." She leant back against the wall and shut her eyes. "Is there _any _good news? Anything at all?"

Carth paused for a moment as he thought. "Well," He said slowly. "It's time for dinner. Does that count?"

Felix's stomach answered for her.

"I'll take that as a yes." Carth grinned as he pushed himself off the bed. He reached down underneath the bed and yanked out a pair of worn boots. As he shoved his feet into them, he grabbed a jacket that was crumpled on the floor and pulled it on.

"Where are you going?" Felix asked, watching him cross to the door.

"To find some food." He replied. "I'll have to go to the local cantina."

Felix nodded. "I'll come with you." She began to rise to her feet, but she collapsed in a heap back onto the mattress. "Maybe not." She muttered, her voice muffled by the blanket.

Carth opened the door and stepped outside. Before he left, he popped his head back into the room and called, "There's a shower in the refresher. It's not brilliant, but it works. Have a look in some of the containers as well. Whoever last owned this place vacated it in a hurry, and he left some pretty useful stuff behind."

* * *

Carth made his way through the Upper City of Taris. He'd only ventured out a couple of times before, and even then for no more than a few minutes, but already he hated the place. Anyone who looked even remotely alien got verbal abuse hurled at them in the streets. Sometimes people weren't happy with insults, and resulted to using their fists or blasters instead. If their victims raised a hand to defend themselves, they normally got arrested and carted off to spend a night in the dismal cells in the Lower City. 

He'd almost reached the cantina when a nearby scuffle caught his attention. Several of the Upper City residents had cornered a young Twi'lek, and were leering at her and pushing her around. The girl looked furious, and she lashed out whenever one of them touched her. Carth felt his own anger rising. _She's only a kid. _His anger turned to fury when he realised that people were just walking past them, acting as if nothing was happening.

Forgetting the need for secrecy, forgetting that Sith officers were nearby, Carth strode forwards, reaching for his blaster. He had his weapon half drawn and he was nearing the group when a loud bellow stopped him in his tracks. From nowhere, a Wookie had appeared and was charging at the men who bullied the young Twi'lek. As they caught sight of him, they paled and froze. When he was only a few feet away from them, they seemed to come to their senses and took flight.

"Cowards!" The girl screamed. "Ain't so tough now, are ya? Get back here!" The Wookie carried on chasing them. He was still roaring and he had produced a vibrosword from nowhere, which he swung menacingly. The girl joined in the chase, shaking her fists and yelling colourful insults.

* * *

Felix turned off the shower and stepped out onto the cold floor. Carefully, trying not to slip in any pools of water, she made her way over to the apartment's only mirror. It had a long crack running down the middle and was beginning to cloud, but she still managed to see her reflection clearly. She grimaced as she inspected her body; almost every inch of her skin was covered in scratches and bruises. She was grateful that she didn't come off worse from the crash, but that did nothing to ease the persistent ache that gnawed away at her. As she spotted a particularly large bruise in a particularly uncomfortable place, she made up her mind to hop into the nearest kolto tank she could find. 

Sighing, she wrapped herself in a threadbare towel and made her way back into the main room, where a set of clothes lay waiting for her on the bed. Before she had taken her shower, she had heeded Carth's advice and searched the crates for anything useful. As their rough landing had torn her outfit to shreds, her main priority was finding clothes. Fortunately, the previous owner had left behind a rather large stash of trousers, shirts, jackets, boots and underwear. Unfortunately, he had been twice her height. She had had to cut the clothes down with a small knife from the kitchen before anything came even close to fitting her.

She dried off and changed into the oversized clothes. She had just pulled a shirt over her head when the door slid open and Carth stepped inside. He was carrying a couple of cartons, from which a delicious smell was wafting. Calling out a greeting, she shuffled over to him as fast as her injuries allowed and took one of the containers. She moved over to the table and beckoned Carth to follow. As he sat down, she noticed that he was watching her eagerly.

"What?" She asked suspiciously.

Carth grinned mysteriously. "You'll see."

Shrugging, Felix tore off the lid, desperate for the food inside. A look of horror crossed her face as she peered into the carton. It contained a lump of grey sludge, accompanied by more grey sludge. Carth began to laugh. "Smell's deceptive, isn't it?"

Felix sighed and picked up a spoon, a look of grim determination on her face. She closed her eyes and took a large bite of the food, trying not to chew it or let it touch her tongue as she choked it down. The taste made her eyes water. Carth also had tears in his eyes, but they were from laughter. Glaring at him, she hurried over to the sink, filled a glass with water and gulped it down as fast as she could. Feeling better, she turned back to him and asked, "So, what's the plan for saving the Jedi?"


End file.
